Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-02-06
OLIVE CULTURE.
n Very Prem sing Branch OF
HortlcuIIure.

HDrtiCmlrurc-
AN olive plantation, says an odd
ltnFaEn fsrsTerh, lis a gold mine on the
srurfsce fsf the earth" For centuries j;
aEns been An important product OF
Grssca- Italy, France, SPAN aud the
islands Of the Mediterranean, and the
sx-an1 TO which 1t Is grown viii prob
abby he a csnse Of surprise to those who
huwe given htfls thought to the matter.
In Irnlg Aione, which tas total area of
Als.GlJ0 square miles, considerably less
alsan California. not less than 225. 900
the olive. An inferior variety Of the
fr-nf was first planted along the coast of
CaIdsrnia by lbe Spanish padres WHO
established fhs mission settlements
bvxRra the close OF the last century or
tauay Fsfa of the present They were
newer PLANTED In large Numbers in any
place 3af were found to grow admirably
ana bsur well, and their cultivation was
found no be quite profitable in later
CHS The Mission olive Is q good one
On which TO graft better varieties, Of
whica there are many, but should not be
EiEDbsd with any other object in view.
I'm BDlne nurseries In the southern par;
1if the State are thirty varieties. most of
wairh are preferable to the Mission.
During tine past twenty years, and more
FsnticalRrly during the last ten, the
cultivation OF lhis INIT has received
considerable Htsenfion from experienced
Ena intelligent horficnlturists, aud is
NOW asrsiofang into an important in
d1nstrv- Tho few groves thai are be ar
Ing Gre proving themselves more profit
Rsls than amy other kind of fruit, and
there is no doubt tia. ere many years
the ni;Ue VIII figure rs one of the most
important products OF California
The character Of the tree, methods of
eS1ltHTatlsn and of preparing the fruit
5sr market, Rre little understood, and
many erroneous ideas regarding 1t pre-
wall. For instance. it is thought by
usnuy thIt ii win not thrive when far
removed from the sea-coast. 1t does
not IN the countries OF southern Europe,
where it Is mainly grown, because the
valley or hill lands between the a
shsre and the mountains in those
r1urnta1es occupy a marrow belt, and
the mBun-ains rise precipitousiy to a
bE;ghf where the cold OF winter is t,o
rrszr fr them to live La California
rhs Typographical peculiarties and mild
ness Cd climate make it 20 ssible to grow
these tress mnch farther from the sea
and n a greater altitude than in Europe.
During 3 long term of years these trees
hnxe bsan grown es ornaments in many
cd tins Safe, and seem to grow
rD Eerfscta1n In the mountains surround
ing the upper Sacramento valley, from
ahe iruit cd which In excellent quality
al ol has been 4roauced. They are
growing To day In nearly every county
cd central and southern California, aad
Those who have had experience with
them are preparing to engage more
aRrctly i'm their cuitlyGti0n. They were
firx1 Elarsea In the San Joaquin valley
nh1nt fifteen years ago, and began to
bsBr nj nm early sge; and il may not be
KNOWN I'd many readers of the Della
thai fha,e nre m0re OF these trees grow
r1g nm Tnlgre than in any ether of the
oSunrSss in or bordering up-n the val
lty Cd tae San Joaquin, yet such is
this cass- They have besn tried in the
zr;alrne lands and foothills, and the sue
CESS 1asf with IN their cultivation in
h1uih is saah rs TO encourage our orch
nriissts to plant them more largely, for
they have many things to recommend
thsan- They VIII grow on stony foot
EIa innas, TOO stHrIie to produce any
E1hsr Trnit tree, or crop of any kiad,
Sut viii, bf course, yield more on better
lHna- The cHrreat idea that one must
Iise q Lifetime 10 gather the first crop
frun n newly planted orchard, is erron-
sgns- Tlhe sseas are slow to germinate,
nna rhe young trees require close atten-
taBn dor two or three years before they
Kre set ont IN their places In the ORCH
nrd, and IN ltaly If WINS sometimes forty
or nifty years before tine trees came into
inll bearing. Ia California they are
FrsPAgEtsa frnm cuttings, and as early
Es tine third year in the orchard single
rrss azs been known to bear 1000 olives,
ssr1 Tins is far above the average. At
tive years Cd age tney become quite
fru1ilble, and when seven years old
zmA ever af,er yield abuDdantly. They
Ere hung lived Hnd grow to immense size
I'm ltaay ti.ere Rre olive trees said to be
aue Thousand years old
When first planted about one hundred
tnREs are sat eRt On each acre, and If
I'm after years they can be
uflnnsa Ont. The wood Is durable and
hichly Frizsd. On stony Eill land they
Rre Filantea Farther apart; and when
planted IN cunsaciation with grapeyincs-l
5isEt the land may be made productive
,,sifzre the trees c1rne into bearing
they nre sst sixty to seventy feet apart,
with rgxs OF grapevines between. As
ere removed LIN California the average
zrnmbf.r ptr acre Is about one hundred.
Tine lrulf ls gathered usually from No
ssnbar to January, or later. When
FnHklea whole they are divided into
RlfHrent grades, and viii average seven
t. tive CENTS psr gallon in value, and are
nsnnIy fnt ND IN barrels. The bsss are
x'Errh 81 25 frsr gallon. II made into
1aa tine silives ere crushed thoroughly
Ind pressed Water is then added,
wtbEn they 1re again pressed and sec
Ga guallrs maie. They are pressed .
BhlHa riue making n third quality: and
! tEaarrh quality Is also made. In Italy
dhe rssn 3ns Is pressed into bricks and
used far fnel, hut in California this is
The oil is worth about
S Eer gallon, and the recsipfs from a
1nliMnia aillxe grove reach as high as
s2trs0 per anre. But with a yield of 200
.sRAlaus to the acre (which is a small
Am1unf0 wAlnea mt s. per gallon, the
rssturns from ench acre would amount to
slfs2tA- In 1aly occasional cold years
iaRst the GRIP and in soms instances de-
snruy tine trses. hut in California loss
irTn TINS source wonld be unknown.
In Its interior OF California they shoald
also he Tree from the ravages of insect
pests ar Diseases And when attacked
ths trees mny be cut back to the stump,
irum which viii shoot q new and healthy
rrgxrh- In France II Is calculated that
sSOut l55e gallons msy be prodnced
Hnch yHar fr1m an acre. In California,
with a m1rs even climate and more fer
tlie slill, the yisla should be much larger.
n 4 IA l.